1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to transportation systems and more particularly to an improved electrified vehicle transportation system wherein the vehicles receive electrical power through electrical conductors on or above the roadway. The invention also provides novel electrical pickups to be mounted on the vehicles for transferring electrical power from the roadway conductors to the vehicles.
2. Prior Art
A variety of electrified vehicle transportation systems have been devised over the years, and some have been placed into actual operation for public use. One well-known type of electrified vehicle transportation system, for example, comprises electrically powered public transportation vehicles, such as the "street cars" of past years, subway trains, and electrified surface trains, which run on fixed rails and receive electrical power through electrical pickups engaging either overhead electrical cables or so-called "third rails". Another type of electrified public transportation system in current widespread use comprises steerable wheeled vehicles in the form of rubber-tired busses which run on public roadways and receive electrical power through overhead electrical cables. While this latter type of electrified transportation system, i.e., a system utilizing steerable wheeled vehicles which run on public roadways, are in current use only for public transportation and for other specialized commercial applications, the system is quite adaptable to use with electrified automobiles and such use has been proposed in the past.
Among the prior art patents in the field of electrified vehicle systems are the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,068,403 and 2,125,590, relating to electrified toy car systems; U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,532,224 and 1,966,014 relating to overhead and third rail electrical pickups for electrified vehicle systems, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,254 relating to an electrified, steerable vehicle transportation system for use on public roadways.